SOCIALLY PROFILED
CHALLENGE ROTH TRAINING - 2023
Week beginning Sunday, May 7, 2023
7 weeks out from race day.
WEEKLY GOAL
Avoid the mad dash to the finish (walk before run)
SUMMARY
Total Time: 15¼ Hours
I feel like I was GETTING BUSY
More time on the TT Bike and I am getting more comfortable with the new format. There is more work to do though. Full-synchro Di2 shift point going down the cassette is spot on but I haven't dialled it in the opposite direction. I think I am getting pretty dialled with the arm pad position too. Hard lesson in the difference between a valve extension and tube extender learned.
In the pool, I felt like I am becoming a little more proprioceptive and I think I have something to work with to develop a better breathing stroke. Open water is not far away now.
My right foot is healing slowly. I have to believe that patience is going to pay off.
SUNDAY MAY 7 🌦
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 5 | Stress 4 | Soreness 5
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Swim 3500: 200 easy free. 2x 50 kick...testing out the foot/ankle. Rest as needed. 2x 50 shark-fin drill. R :20. 100 swim w/ good rotation. R :30. 4x 50 Shark-fin and paddle-fist drill. R :20. 100 w/ your best form. Reset. Then.... 12x 100 aerobic/steady/smooth w/ 3x sighting per 50. R :10. 2x 50 super easy/stretch out. 12x 100 aerobic/steady/smooth w/ buoy, focus on rotation. R :10. 4x 50 super easy to cool down.
MTB ~ 80 minutes. Cruising on whatever kind of dirt sounds entertaining to you!
NOTES
Total Time: 160 Mins Swim: 3500m Ride: 26 km
After pancakes for breakfast and some household chores, I looked at the clock and thought that it would be a waste to wait for the lanes at Crystal Pool to open up when there are lanes advertised at Commonwealth Pool.
I jumped on the mountain bike and took a gravel route up to Royal Oak.
I indeed had a 25m lane mostly to myself this afternoon. So awesome!
There was a father that led his 2 young daughters that couldn't swim into the lane. I only needed to bark at him once before they left for the kids pool. My real feelings about this being muted.
Apart from that, I might have had my best swim of this spring/winter; certainly it was the longest pool swim I've ever done. Effort was good, focus was good, I had a young guy in the lane beside me that pushed me just enough. During the second 12x100m set, I was faster without the buoy as the model I used slipped and took more to hold square between my adductors.
Last cooldown lengths were relaxed and as fast as any length I'd done all day. I felt like I could have done another 1000.
The activity recorded on the watch did not include the 100m kick set. I did complete this before the cool down reps.
Back on the bike for the long way home, I headed up to the north end of Elk Lake on the multi-use trail.
A very large Rottweiler wanted to attack me on my bike; it took all the strength of its owner to hold it back with a thick leather leash. Why do people own animals like that? This was not the entertainment I was looking for when starting on this route.
The energy I had in the pool did not translate into energy in my legs; the ride yesterday looked after that. I just pedalled as comfortably as I could to Spartan Road, taking the Centennial Trail back to town.
Solid afternoon but the top of my right foot is noticeably sore tonight. I hope I didn't over do it today...
MONDAY MAY 8 ☁️
Sleep 4 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 4 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Pre-Walk: Dead bugs, breathing, Glute Bridges...:20-:30 second side planks, :30 front planks. Run/Walk 60 minutes: 20 minutes walking. 10x 1:00 EASY running, flat terrain, stable footing, 1:00 walking after each. 20 minutes walking to finish up.
Stretching 25 minutes
NOTES
Total Time: 53 Minutes Walk/Run: 5.8 km
Foot was sore this morning, still sore in the afternoon and I chalked it up, or pretended it was just nerves seeing the work run on the calendar.
After 20 minutes of walking, I took my first attempt at at an easy jog. The foot was sore after about 10 steps and after I few more, I resigned to walking the balance of that minute.
I tried again when the watched beeped for rep #2 and and uncomfortably, I made it to the end of the minute. There is not much strength in that foot and I figured that as long as I am running with my glutes and not pushing hard with the foot, I could make this activity work.
Foot is stiff before going to bed.
TUESDAY MAY 9 ⛅️
Sleep 4 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 5 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Walk ~ 30 minutes.
Swim 2500: 300 easy free. 6x 50 as 25 fist drill/25 gradual build to strong. R :20. 4x 100 as 75 aerobic/smooth/25 w/ higher turnover. R :20 8x 50 Descend 1-4, 5-8 w/ buoy. 1-Relaxed, rotation focus, 2-1/2 IM effort, 3-1500 effort, 4-750 effort. R :20 after each. 100 EASY. 3 rounds (4x 50 FAST on 1:00. 100 EASY on 3:00) 100 extra easy to cool down.
NOTES
Total Time: 85 Mins Walk: 2.7 km Swim: 2500m
Foot is sore this morning, but not any more sore that any other recent morning. That is the good news.
During the walk, I had a twinge on the top of my foot after 19 minutes, medial calcaneus twinge at 25 minutes, both cleared some what quickly.
Oddly, the cuboid on my LEFT foot was sore in the pool this afternoon. I couldn't tell you where or what a cuboid is six weeks ago. Regardless, I swam well (for me) for a second session in a row. I am feeling more balanced in the water, maybe a bit more like my old self.
WEDNESDAY MAY 10 ☀️
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 3 | Stress 4 | Soreness 3
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Walk ~ 30 minutes.
Pre-Ride: Dead bugs, breathing, Glute Bridges...:20-:30 second side planks, :30 front planks.
Ride 2:30 on TT bike. Easy spin out to Willis Point. 4x Willis Point (Turning around somewhere near the turn off to Ross Durrance) Effort is around 60 minute climbing pace. Certainly focused, but also, not dying at the end of each rep. Easy spin down for recover. Ride a flat/rolling route to get in your miles after this. Eat and drink early and often
NOTES
Total Time: 75 Minutes Ride: 28 km
It's still not 100% but my right foot feels okay this morning. The weakness is in the ankle joint (both sides) and not local where the break in the cuboid happened.
Not the ride as written as I was short of time this afternoon but I did get to the top of Langvista Drive 3 times. That hill for me today was about 5½ minutes, on a pretty consistent 12% grade, to the top; not the same as Willis Point Road. Still, I pedalled away feeling like I could have done one more. Last summer, I couldn't make it to the top once.
I needed to pick up Carina at the airport but still, I felt guilty that I didn't ride the full 2½ hours.
THURSDAY MAY 11 ☀️
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 3 | Stress 4 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Swim 2500: 100 swim, 100 w/ buoy, 100 steady kick. 2x 50 Shark-fin. R :20 2x 50 Paddle-fist. R :20. 2x 50 build easy to strong. R :20 100 easy/relaxed. When ready>>> 1500 continuous/steady/smooth. 6x 50 SUPER easy to cool down.
Pre-Walk: Dead bugs, breathing, Glute Bridges...:20-:30 second side planks, :30 front planks.
Run/Walk 60 minutes: 20 minutes walking. 10x 1:00 EASY running, flat terrain, stable footing, 1:00 walking after each. 20 minutes walking to finish up.
NOTES
Total Time: 0 Minutes Swim: 2300m
LCM this afternoon at Crystal Pool and I got into the 1500 continuous as a race to get it complete before the lane change. Mission accomplished and I had 2 cool down lengths before ending the workout 200m short of what was written.
Being a bit short in the pool meant being a bit long on the bike commute home. I rode the E&N Trail and caught the shift change leaving the shipyard. Ego took over and I found myself in a peloton, then in the front group, then me chasing an e-bike for a race to Colwood. The e-bike won but it was a long way back to third place.
As fast as I thought I was on the bike path, maybe I should have slowed down and read that I was supposed to walk/run instead of riding. My mistake.
FRIDAY MAY 12 ☀️
Sleep 4 | Fatigue 5 | Stress 4 | Soreness 4
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Walk 30 minutes. EASY.
Pre-Ride: Dead bugs, breathing, Glute Bridges...:20-:30 second side planks, :30 front planks.
Ride 90 minutes easy on TT bike. Flat/rolling terrain. Nice and easy.
NOTES
Total Time: 85 Minutes Ride: 34 km
A couple hours of on my feet doing outside chores (deck furniture, weed eating, mowing, etc), I skipped the walk/run.
I did get of a lap of the waterfront on my TT Bike done. Legs were pretty tired from chasing that dude on his e-bike yesterday. Maybe on of the nicest late afternoon of the year for a bike ride. Light breeze, sunshine and a smile. Saved some for tomorrow.
SATURDAY MAY 13 ☀️
Sleep 3 | Fatigue 4 | Stress 2 | Soreness 3
Rate on an scale 1-7 1=best 7=worst +5 is a warning
PLANNED WORKOUT
Run/Walk 35 minutes: 10 minutes walking to warm up. 10x 1 minute easy running, 1 minute walk after each. 5 minutes walking to finish up.
Pre-Ride: Dead bugs, breathing, Glute Bridges...:30 second side planks, :30-:60 front planks. Ride 4:00 on TT bike. Really similar to last week. Get in the bars when you're comfortable.
NOTES
Walk/Run: 5 km Ride: 109 km
Total Time: ~315 Minutes
Apart from a few twinges on the top of my right foot on the first and second rep, I felt fantastic; more sunshine, 19°C and a light breeze. Still not pushing hard on the first steps to get up to speed; that's ok.
Out on the bike, I headed west, up and over Humpback Road then on to the highway. I had a really good tailwind pushing me into Sooke and I thought about the effort is will take on the return trip back to town. First time exploring Otter Point Road and it was great, rolling with some climbs and a long descent back to the ocean.
Highway 14 from Gordon Beach to Kemp Lake Road was sketchy; no shoulder, no white line and hill-billy traffic racing to get somewhere. Interestingly, the traffic got more relaxed the closer to town I got.
Heading out of town, I contemplated stopping at the last Esso station heading out of town. I decided to press on and fill up my water bottles at the little convenience store in East Sooke. 200m later, I was pushing my bike back to the Esso station to fix my first flat tire of the year.
The valve extender on my rear wheel is actually a "tube extension" and did not fit the Presta chuck of my pump. By luck, I misplaced by road repair kit and set off on this ride with my MTB repair kit; I had a multi-tool and a pump that does Presta and Schrader valves. I put my frustrations on hold for a moment, then spent my time figuring out this system. 7 minutes to walk back to the gas station, 28 minutes to change the flat (correctly), and since I was stopped here for so long anyway, I topped up my water bottles before heading back to Victoria.
East Sooke features a couple of hills but it was the long climb from Pedder Bay to the top of Rocky Point Road that I really started to feel the fatigue in my quads. In aero whenever terrain and traffic permitted and not much QL tightness to write about, at least nothing like I was dealing with this time last year.
Apart from the flat tire, this was a good day with lots of stimulus in the legs.